With all precincts counted in the Lamorinda council races, a number of incumbents will be returning for another term. But one will not.

In the area's closest council race, incumbent Karen Mendonca lost her seat on the Moraga Town Council and will finish her term in December; she was the council's sole female member.

Planning Commissioner Roger Wykle won a seat with 26 percent of the vote and was followed by incumbent Mike Metcalf with 22 percent, and Audit & Finance Committee member Phillip Arth with 22 percent.

Mendonca's critics waged a vocal campaign against her re-election, taking issue with her stance on physically separating offleash dogs and their owners from other users at a popular community park, among other issues.

"I believe that this negative smear campaign had a powerful impact on the outcome of this election," Mendonca wrote in an e-mail. "I had hoped that citizens would not be influenced by these visual and written assaults, but I was wrong. Research confirms that these negative and targeted campaigns can be very effective in destroying the candidacy of an honorable and proven public servant as I have sadly experienced in this election."

Wykle said that while the issue of spatial separation at Ranch Laguna park did matter to some voters, he did not know what effect the "Defeat Mendonca" campaign had on the election.

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"I knew it was going to be a very tight race," Wykle said Wednesday, adding that he's looking forward to tackling the implementation of Measure K, a one-cent sales tax approved by voters Tuesday to repair and maintain the town's roads, as well as updating Moraga's general plan and helping guide the Open Space ordinance.

In Lafayette, incumbent Mike Anderson won re-election with 30 percent share of the vote. Other candidates winning seats were Crime Prevention Commission chair Traci Reilly with 28.5 percent of the vote and planning commissioner Mark Mitchell with nearly18 percent.

In Orinda, incumbent Steve Glazer and Victoria Smith handily won re-election, with 43 percent of the vote and 38 percent, respectively.

In Lafayette, where emergency services, development and housing downtown dominated the race, incumbents Carol Federighi and Carl Anduri announced earlier this year that they were not seeking re-election.

The hopefuls also included ﻿Robert Lobron, a city Parks, Trails & Recreation commissioner; and Yolanda "Jolie" Vega, who chairs the city's Circulation Commission.

Roads, fiscal health and open space were just some of the issues debated by five candidates vying for three open seats on the Moraga Town Council. Incumbent Howard Harpham did not run.

The candidates were finance executive Seth Freeman, as well as Arth, Mendonca, Metcalf and Wykle.

In Orinda, failing roads dominated the campaigns of three candidates running for two open seats.

Newcomer Linda Delehunt said she entered the race because of a lack of progress on issues the city is facing, including its deteriorating infrastructure.